In the midst of the ongoing controversy surrounding the allocation of reserved seats, Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Mohammad Ibrahim Khan clarified that the stay order issued by the court is limited to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), as reported by The News on Sunday.
Following his responsibilities as the presiding officer during the voting for the presidential elections in the provincial assembly, Chief Justice Khan addressed the media to provide clarity on the court’s position. He emphasized that members sworn in the National Assembly (NA) in accordance with the PHC order “did not commit contempt of court.”
The PHC had issued a stay order last Wednesday, barring the oath-taking of lawmakers notified on reserved seats, based on a petition filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC). The court’s stay order, extended until March 13 by a five-member bench, raised questions about the legitimacy of oath-taking procedures.
Despite the court’s directive, four MNAs elected on reserved seats took their oaths in the lower house, triggering protests from opposition benches. The NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq clarified that he had not received any notice against the oath-taking of members, and the lawmakers sworn in did not belong to KP.
Earlier, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) rejected the SIC’s plea for allocation of reserved seats, favoring a proportional representation process based on the seats won by political parties. The ECP ruled that the SIC could not claim a share in reserved seats for women due to procedural and legal defects.
This decision by the electoral body stirred further debate over the allocation of reserved seats, particularly regarding the representation of political parties in the assemblies, with the PTI-backed SIC being excluded from the allotment.
